Bullseye is On Point
Bullseye: “You still don’t get it, do you? I’m Bullseye. In my hands, anything is a weapon.”
Hawkeye: Dark Reign #5
A detective walks through a blood splattered room, now a crime scene. A half-dozen corpses with bizarre wounds make walking difficult. There, a man with a billiard ball halfway through his neck. Near him, a woman with toothpicks embedded in her eyes and chest. A ballpoint pen though the liver, a throat slit by a playing card, and other gruesome kills in a heap of carnage.
The detective hears a noise behind him. A man in a black costume with a bullseye scar on his head is eating peanuts. The detective goes for his gun, but the assassin flicks a peanut into his throat, causing the detective to choke. The last thing the detective hears is his killer saying, “Bullseye”.
Bullseye is one of Marvel’s most sadistic villains. He murdered Elektra, killed Daredevil’s girlfriend right in front of him, and was handpicked to join the Dark Avengers. So who is he? How did he become an assassin? Is there anything he can’t weaponize? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
Pitcher Perfect: Bullseye’s Backstory
Kingpin: “Now, how did you get past my security?”
Daredevil (2003)
Bullseye: “Oh, you mean that guy?”
[points to a dead man with pencils in his throat on floor]
Kingpin: “Was that really necessary?”
Bullseye: “Necessary? No. It was fun.”
Bullseye debuted in Nick Fury: Agent Of SHIELD #15 in 1969. He was created by Gary Heidrick and Herb Trimpe.
Little is known about Bullseye’s early life, including his real name. He claims he grew up in an abusive home and learned to shoot by playing with his father’s rifle. He would later kill his father and stage the death as a suicide. He tried to become a professional baseball player, but grew bored while pitching a no-hitter. He threw a baseball at the batter, killing him instantly.
The NSA recruited Bullseye and trained him as an assassin before deploying him to Nicaragua. He developed a massive drug empire with the Contras, but it was destroyed during a fight between several gangs and The Punisher. Undeterred, he returned to America and became a costumed hitman.
Bullseye became Wilson Fisk’s chief assassin and part of Kingpin’s criminal empire. He lost his position when he was defeated by Daredevil, sparking a lifelong grudge.
Cape Killer: Bullseye’s History
Bullseye: “You’re good, baby. But me? I’m magic. [draws a playing card and slits Elektra’s throat] And for my next trick… [impales Elektra with her sai]”
Daredevil (2003)
Killing Daredevil and regaining his job as Kingpin’s assassin consumed Bullseye. Readers later learned that he was suffering from a brain tumor that worsened that obsession. He attacked the antihero Elektra after learning that she had replaced him at Kingpin’s side.
Bullseye defeated Elektra and stabbed her with her own sai. She died in Daredevil’s arms. Daredevil responded by breaking his back, sneaking into his hospital room, and playing Russian roulette with a gun that only Daredevil knew wasn’t loaded.
Bullseye’s back was repaired with Adamantium. He worked with the villain Mysterio to try and drive Daredevil mad. When that failed, he killed Daredevil’s next lover, Karen Page, with DD’s own billy club. Note to women seeking to date Daredevil: don’t.
He was later recruited for the Thunderbolts, Marvel’s version of the Suicide Squad. During Dark Reign the Thunderbolts were co-opted by Norman “The Green Goblin” Osborn. He rebranded them the Avengers and had them impersonate superheroes. Bullseye became the new Hawkeye.
Sadistic Shooter: Bullseye’s Powers and Personality
Mephisto: “It’s Bullseye, Grim. “Only kill one person” is a necessary instruction with him.”
Jane Foster: Valkyrie #4
Bullseye can throw anything he can lift as a projectile with perfect accuracy. He’s killed people with toothpicks, pens, nuts, baseballs, his own teeth, and infamously threw a poodle through Venom’s eye socket. He rarely uses guns, but if you could throw a dog into an alien’s head, why bother with guns?
He is a weapon master who is skilled enough to kill the assassin Elektra and fight Daredevil and Deadpool to a standstill. Bullseye’s also gets a small amount of super strength from that Adamantium in his back.
Bullseye is one sadistic sonuvagun. He kills for money, pride, or just because he feels like it. He becomes obsessed with enemies who survive, especially if they commit the rare cardinal sin of causing him to miss. He particularly enjoys killing enemies with their own weapons.
The Actors who play Bullseye
Colin Farrell – Daredevil
Wilson Bethel – Daredevil
Didya get all that?
A sadistic, sharp-shooting supervillain.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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